All trains were heading towards NTU hospital stop early on Saturday afternoon and the hordes of people at the station were testament to the parade's popularity. As chance would have it, Cass was heading deep downtown for the second time that day as she had got up early to travel down to the Hsin Yi district for her light therapy on her face. She had successfully negotiated the downtown train and found her way to the hospital and back in the bustle of the south-eastern city hub while I slept soundly on! We had a late breakfast and a relax for an hour or two before we headed off again!
Disgorged, along with thousands of others about half an hour before the official start of the parade, we found the roads again apocalyptically cleansed of vehicular traffic and the space given over to throngs of happy folk gathering and meeting and organizing with high spirits and obvious goodwill as the excitement of the parade neared. There were certainly some great sights! We felt quite overdressed in our jeans and t-shirts and would have fitted in much better in some designer cut-down, super tight undies, a leather peak cap and high heels while flaunting lots of flesh! The only trouble would be those chiseled six-packs and Zeppelin chests: there's no store where you can buy those....just a few thousand hours in the gym that we certainly hadn't done!
We set up in the median strip down one of the side streets of the Hall and got a view of both routes of the parade as they set off. There were so many participants that the parade was split into two paths round the immediate vicinity from the staging point (and eventual party central late into the night). There were LGBT paraders of all shapes and sizes but the sashaying, outrageous boys were the highlight. They were very cute and really happy to pose for photos at various spots along the way. Cass was keen on the six-pack undie boys in groups on the trucks, and the music blasting out was reminiscent of our high school discos: lot's of Donna Summer and mirrorball glam!
The general ambiance was relaxed and exciting and happy: most of all, happy. It was refreshing to see such seemingly happy people congregating in large numbers and "sharing the love" and we felt really good to be a part of it all. As Cass noted, not an alcoholic beverage in site, no yobs, no trouble. This city just oozes safety and clam, never more than on this day.
we railed it underground back a stop before ducking into the monolithic Taipei Main Station Hall where the first floor boulevard is home to dozens and dozens of eateries. We settled on Japanese ramen as cass spotted the most unbelievable thing: vegetarian ramen! The traditional dish is very heavy on pork, so definitely not cassy's "cup of tea". This version didn't even have the pork infused broth, so she was in seventh heaven. It was a great find...let's hope the promotion continues and we'll be back.
Reluctantly bypassing the almost cocaine-like temptation of Krispy Creme doughnuts, we wandered round to the imperiously furnished and eponymous, "Dazzling Cafe". Led to our table of French reproduction palace seats (some with bunny ears for some unknown reason!), we perused the menu for the cafe's famous signature dish. Some years ago when the first branch of the cafe opened there were kilometre long queues to sample the Dazzling Cafe honey toast. Basically a hollowed out half loaf of bread with toasted fingers of bread inside, it is topped with ice cream and flavouring and various other sweeteners and taste sensations....quite the experience! Cass ordered the strawberry sensation and I got the traditional. Along with a strong cup of coffee we felt very decadent and satiated by the time we stumbled out in the early evening to MRT home.
I went out again at midnight on Saturday to watch the World Cup rugby final and although I had good fun with the usual crew of Aussies and Kiwis, the resultant triumph by the All Blacks was all a bit of a fizzer and enough said....I'm over it!
Photos: some of my team as the characters from "Inside Out" at Halloween, a rainbow of shots from the Gay Parade, Cass in the hand sculpture chair at NTU station and Dazzling Cafe!